Under the Radar
by Megan S Lox
Summary: 3 years after the events of the movie, Lisa and Jackson are brought together again to work for the US government under the radar. Seeing each other again is hard, but even harder is realizing how much they have changed in 3 years because of the other. Can they work together and pull off what the government has hired them for? Can Jackson love and can Lisa kill?
1. 3 Years Later

_**AN: I have ideas for this story, but I want to see the interest level for it before I get too attached to the idea of it. After watching the movie a couple of times this summer, I have fallen in love with the characters and the idea for this story started to form in my head. So I hope you enjoy the introduction!**_

_**Disclaimer: I, in no way, own the characters from the movie "Red Eye". The storyline and screenplay for the movie was written by Carl Ellsworth, and was directed by the amazing Wes Craven. The movie is a product of Dreamworks. I also do not claim knowledge of how court procedures are done in Florida, I only know what I have seen in my home state. Nor do I claim knowledge of how Homeland Security would really act in this case.**_

"_Znnnng"_

The blinking of the nearly pristine light over his head would have driven a weaker man to insanity by now, but Jackson Rippner was no ordinary man. He had spent many a month worth of time in stress management and torture endurance courses. Slip ups were not allowed in his line of work no matter how good an agent or manager may have been prior. Mr. Rippner was also not a suicidal man. Which is why he was seated at a table, in the interrogation room, talking to one of Homeland Security's finest.

"Mr. Ramage, I am sure you are aware of the…negative feelings my colleagues and clients will hold towards me after my last failed contract," Jackson's fingers netted into a loose pyramid as he spoke every syllable carefully, "I am willing to negotiate a deal and present to you and your department the names of everyone I have worked with in the past, both domestic and international…in exchange I would like protection,"

The balding Shamus Ramage eyed the young man with caution. He had already been made aware of what his superiors wanted of Jackson Rippner, but it was in his best interest to obtain that and the information that Rippner seemed willing to part with.

"We may not be able to give you full protection from all of your potential enemies Mr. Rippner, but if you give us this information we may be able to give you a job helping train officers in being able to see into the minds of terrorists. This can be a paid job used as an alternative to the thirty-five plus years that the judge has handed out. And as I'm sure you know, in prison, you will have a rather large target on your back,"

Jackson leaned back as far as he could in a metal chair attached to the floor. This was a not-so-surprising offer given his almost perfect record and mental capabilities. With his hands still forming a slight pyramid, both thumbs began to lightly graze the pinkish white scar over his trachea. Yes, the true test was if they would agree to his next request. He kept his steel blue eyes on the man sitting across from him as he pretended to weigh the options in his head.

"I am afraid that I only planned out the attacks that the contracts called for. I may know how to formulate them with precise male fact based logic, but as I'm sure you've read from the file you have on my early life, I have never had the opportunity to build up enough attachments to take in account the role of emotions. That is what regrettably caused me to fail last time. I can teach your men how a terrorist may enact an attack, but I am not properly enlightened on how to combat these attacks. I would very much like to work with a partner,"

Ramage felt as if the eyes attached to the man across from him could read him with little effort despite his years of training and seniority. He also felt that Rippner was intentionally being an open book to him at this moment.

"You want us to enlist Lisa Reisert, the woman who managed to save your last target?"

"Hmmm yes, and who put a hole in my throat with a pen. While I will not lie and say I have completely overcome my anger towards what she managed, I will admit that she beat me fair and square and is the only one to ever do so. I believe this more than qualifies her to be of assistance in the emotional factor since that is what helped her to overcome my threats,"

"I will see what I can do Mr. Rippner,"

The aged man gathered up his stack of notes with gnarled fingers, and began to carefully unbend his knees. Jackson watched until he had a loose grip on the handle of the door before he opened his mouth again.

"Mr. Ramage, while Lisa may not have as many enemies as I do, I hope you remember that she was the cause of a major assassination attempt failing. The organization who contacted me about this hit was one of the highest payers I have ever had. And as you have seen from the size of my estate that you and your men have raided, I do not make chump change. It would be in everyone's best interest if she was here,"

"I will keep that in mind,"

Jackson tilted his head back to look at the boring ceiling. Getting caught was not the worst thing in the world. The Government initiated assassinations and take downs all the time, and he knew the occupation of training these pawns was only going to be a front. He would be given orders to construct plans for the government and in return would be the fall guy if they failed, but if they succeeded he would be paid and kept in secrecy. Given his track record this was a pretty safe bet.

Lisa was the only tricky part of this deal. Honesty had been driven into him at a young age, so he would not lie about the begrudging respect for her he had gained after his anger had begun to melt away. He was not about to let her die at the hands of some second rate assassin after she had bested him. He had plans for her. One eye drifted down to the door as his ears made out the sound of someone undoing a latch.

"My superiors have reached a decision, Mr. Rippner,"

O.o.O.o.O

"Cynthia calm down. I'm only going to Jury Duty; no planes I swear,"

Lisa Reisert had been peacefully riding in the back of a taxi when her friend and coworker Cynthia Mays had begun the twisting trip down an anxiety attack. The disaster on the plane and at the hotel had occurred almost three years ago, but the strain was still there. Cynthia's anxiety was noticeably worse, and Lisa could not say she was any better. While the event had brought the two women closer, it had also left Lisa with an odd feeling of emptiness. She could no longer say she was happy working at the hotel without lying through her teeth, and her paranoia had expanded. No longer was it just parking lots that fazed her, but everywhere. She had even bought a dog named Noodles to guard her house.

Sliding her phone shut, Lisa saw the outline of the courthouse coming into view. The sooner she could get this over with the better. No one liked going into the courthouse so early only to have to wait anxiously for your name to be called and the judge to go through all the procedures.

After paying the cab his fare, Lisa straightened her grey skirt and suit jacket before heading up the steps to the check in location. One of the court workers manning the metal detector took her purse and checked its contents while she walked through undeterred. Lisa had only ever been here a handful of times in her life; the most recent having to do with what happened on the Red Eye flight out of Dallas. She had been subpoenaed for the court case of the State of Florida against Jackson Theodore Rippner, and had to sit there on the stand pretending as if she could not see or feel the soured look he had been giving her. She had effectively made it so he could not say anything in his defense. With the combined injuries that both her and her dad had inflicted upon him, it had taken a full two months before he was deemed fit for trial. It had been another month before the trial had even taken place, and the doctors had still limited Jackson's use of speech for the trial.

As soon as Lisa was through the door of the court room she slipped her phone out of her purse and turned it off. Despite Cynthia being her friend, Lisa had no intentions of taking a frantic phone call while in the room. Thankfully, not long after she had taken her seat the judge had arrived and everyone was ordered to stand and then sit down.

"You have all been made aware that the nature of this case is of the sexual kind. When I call potential jurors up for questioning, if there is anything that may pertain to your decision making on this case that you do not feel comfortable with sharing to the whole room then please make this known and I will question you in private. Now will the first fourteen names please be called out,"

Lisa sat quietly as she listened to every second or third person be excused by the judge for some reason or another. The problem with being called in during a criminal case was the fact that it was so easy for people to be excused, so there was a high chance that her name would be called. She could almost feel her name creeping up on the county clerk's lips.

"Everyone please move down one seat. Call another name,"

"Lisa Reisert,"

With as much grace as she could muster after sitting there for nearly an hour, Lisa moved to the jurors' box and again waited her turn. She had moved only a few seats by the time the judge's voice spoke to her.

"Lisa Reisert of Miami, correct?"

"Yes your honor, but if we could I would prefer you to question me in private,"

Lisa had been saying those words over and over again in her head while she had been waiting for her turn. There was no way that she could be on this case and remain unbiased. At the Judge's motion, Lisa stood from her seat and followed the judge to the room behind his chair. Despite reporting it five years ago, there were very few people who Lisa had confined in about the attack and assault on her, and she planned on keeping it that way.

"Now Ms. Reisert, please take a seat and we can begin the questioning where you feel the most uncomfortable,"

Fiddling with the handles of her purse, Lisa made herself focus on how soft the chair was. All that she had to do was remember that she was not anywhere near that parking lot.

"Five years ago I was the victim of a sexual assault," Lisa kept her mind forward and made her voice stay steady, "Your Honor, I do not feel like I could go into this case unbiased in anyway,"

The Judge gave her a very sympathetic look before his face turned a little smug.

"I already knew this Ms. Reisert, but there is another reason that I need to talk to you in private,"

Pulling out a picture of Jackson, the Judge slid the paper across the desk for Lisa to look at, "I assume you remember this man, Jackson Rippner? I know this case closed over a year ago, but the Department of Homeland Security has taken interest in employing Mr. Rippner,"

He let Lisa take in that little bit of information while he sorted through the folder that he had taken the black and white photo from. Her eyes had widened slightly, and had begun to stealthily slide around to glance in every direction.

"You mean Jackson is no longer in prison?"

"No he never was. They felt like it would have been too much of a risk. Now they have asked me to deliver this message and request to you, so listen closely, Ms. Reisert. Mr. Rippner seems to think that you may be a target for those that hired him for the assassination that you thwarted. Because of this, and the fact that they feel normal police protection would not be enough, they want you to work alongside Rippner in a new program they are creating for his specialties,"

Lisa looked from the picture to her hands which were squeezed together on her lap. If Jackson was cooperating with the Government then maybe she could trust him to behave, but he had tricked her at first too. What if he was only fooling them with some sweet façade and his charismatic words? One thing Lisa did learn from her encounter with Jackson, though, was the power of logic, and right now she had to decide who the bigger threat to her life was. It was completely believable that Jackson's unhappy customers could eventually come after her, but it was also likely that Jackson could want revenge for what she did to him. With Jackson, government officials would be nearby, but if she just went back to her normal life then she had no protection from an unknown attacker. She knew Jackson too. Very little, but she still knew him more than she did whoever it was who wanted Mr. Keefe dead.

"What do I have to do, your Honor?"

_**AN: There it was, the introduction! Here we saw a glimpse of the lives of the characters since the events of "Red Eye". I would deeply appreciate the reviews of people interested in this story, and reviews that hold ideas of the readers too.**_


	2. I Feel Much Better

_**AN: Chapter two is up! The case that I loosely based the Jury Selection scene last chapter on ended late last week. They wound up going through three jury pools before they felt they had 14 unbiased jurors. I am glad I was in the first pool and excused right away because of family connecting to the legal system. Now to encourage reviews and questions I am going to reply right here!**_

_**Guest: I'm glad you thought so! I am trying to keep it as realistic as possible, but I fear my lack of life experience may hinder that. I hope you continue to let me know what you think!**_

_**trudes193: I can't get enough of Jackson and Lisa, so I just had to start my own story. I am glad you like it and I hope you continue to as well. Like I said to the guest, I hope you continue to review and let me know!**_

_**Disclaimer:**_ _**I, in no way, own the characters from the movie "Red Eye". The storyline and screenplay for the movie was written by Carl Ellsworth, and was directed by the amazing Wes Craven. The movie is a product of Dreamworks. I do not claim any knowledge of how they or reality would cause situations in this story to play out.**_

Lisa shoved the last of her cardboard boxes into the packed moving van sitting outside of her apartment. The judge had informed her that she was advised to move to the base as soon as possible and that a van would be waiting outside of her house by the time she would make it home. Sure enough it was, so now seven hours later with the help of her dad, her new Step-mom Nicole, and her Step-brother Alan, she was nearly done. Lisa still wasn't concrete in her decision to move like this; so alarmingly fast, but even her own father enjoyed the thought of her being under government protection.

"Are you sure you don't want to take your fridge, Lisa?" Her heels clicked back into her former kitchen to the sight of her father with his hand pressed against the stainless steel refrigerator, and Nicole propping open the door with her body so her hands could pick through Lisa's food items.

"I'm sure there'll be a perfectly good fridge for me to use at the base, Daddy. Go ahead and take any of the food you want, Nicole. It won't survive the trip to D.C." Lisa grabbed the leash for Noodles's collar and gave her dad a kiss on the cheek before she left the kitchen to start her final sweep of the apartment. She could not express how grateful she was for their help at such short notice, but the sudden turn in her life had left her mind reeling and her tone annoyed.

With her family's help, she had managed to pack everything fairly quickly and wipe the apartment down. On the way home from the courthouse, was when Lisa had made all her calls. First had been her dad, who had been excited at the new prospect of being able to gloat to his fellow retirees that his baby girl was going to work for the Feds. It was admittedly a step up from the Lux. Her second call had been to Cynthia. That one had been the nightmare that she knew it would be. Cynthia had been terrified of the idea of Lisa being anywhere near Jackson again, and Lisa regretted that she could not tell her friend any realistic reassurances; she simply did not have any herself.

The man still haunted her nights. The only relief being the fact that she had won; she had put him in the hospital and saved every innocent. Sadly, dreams don't always follow logic and sometimes she would find herself waking up in fear of Jackson teaming up with her attacker from the parking lot. Those were the dreams that hurt the worst. She had never known her attacker, who was still nameless to her and the police, but she felt betrayed by Jackson. He had pretended to be a civil and courteous man before the plane had taken off, and despite the awkward nervousness being near a male brought her, Lisa had felt herself enjoying his company.

Cynthia knew about all the fears that stemmed from her subconscious. The two women fed off of each other's anxiety; which only made matters worse. Lisa hated to admit it, but maybe some time away from Cynthia would be healthy mentally for the both of them.

She had also called her boss to put in her two weeks' notice and take out two weeks of built up vacation time. Even after the events on the Red Eye and the huge hole caused by Keefe's failed assassination, Lisa had only taken off when she had been needed for police questioning and testifying in court. Her boss had been less than thrilled to be losing an employee that many considered to be a hero, but Lisa's quick assurances of the Lux Atlantic's own fame had calmed his irate behavior enough for her to feel that she had left on alright terms. If anything, she was still the people pleaser-24/7. By the time she had arrived outside of her apartment, she was set.

The only rooms upstairs were the empty bedroom and bathroom. Well nearly empty. Noodles laid sprawled out in both doorways on his stomach with his hind legs jutting out to both sides comically. Her French Bulldog was more of a lover than a fighter, but for some reason strangers were more than nervous around her little, beige guardian. Hearing his master reach the end of the stairs, the dog grunted and stood up to stretch out his legs; licking his black muzzle while in the process of walking over to her.

"Hey there, Sir Noodles,"

o.O.o.O.o

Jackson twirled the keys to his new apartment around his finger as he walked up the concrete steps. He had been informed that his apartment would be full of all of the security measures that he was accustomed to and as he pulled out a slick key card from his back pocket he had to give them a nod of respect.

The metal key to his door was of a very complex design but Jackson cringed as he heard the metal on metal sound of the notches on the key slipping into the lock. Being able to make noise was not a luxury that he was used to having, and even now he had to force himself to not look over his shoulder. If anyone saw him glancing around while entering an apartment it could look very suspicious; especially in such a nice neighborhood.

Swiping the key card as soon as the latch of the lock was removed from the door, he entered the modern looking living room. Jackson ran a hand through his hair and kicked off his gel padded shoes before collapsing and sinking into the couch. Today had been a stressful effort on his part. The Feds had him filling out so many forms declaring his utmost loyalty that his hand felt calloused and sore. He knew that had to be an exaggeration, but since being out of the hospital, his tolerance for pain had declined; hence the gel padded shoes.

His fingers crawled into his pocket to remove the item that had been digging into his skin for the past few minutes. The shiny standard USB unit was supposed to have some sort of form for him to fill out regarding the information he had promised them. It also probably contained some sort of virus that would hack into his laptop and give the Government full access to everything he did online and offline. Thoughts like these would have made him feel overly paranoid except for the fact that he had worked with hackers and had used viruses and programs like that to his benefit in jobs past. He wouldn't do much on his laptop here anyway.

The electronic form was simple and to the point; with spots for names and their connections. He had been informed that Lisa had been hailed for jury selection that morning and that the judge was an old acquaintance, Michael Reynolds. He had been before that judge so many times when he was younger- under a different name of course. Very few knew that he had originally resided in the Miami area while growing up. He still had some of his contacts from his early days of crime, but most of them had left Florida a long time ago. One of them he just wasn't ready to give up yet. He knew there was no way to easily contact him without alerting his new employers; he just had to hope the man was smart enough to grab the rope Jackson was throwing him.

The government issued, Alienware laptop had already been 'personalized' for him. Loading up the new email account the Feds had created for him, Jackson found the address that was taunting his mind. He knew very well how to plant thoughts in people's heads and with just one email; he planned on doing just that.

_"To the Honorable Shamus Ramage… I regret to inform you that I am not the sole holder of the complete directory of client and company information. If you and your colleagues would deem it beneficial to your cause to have the complete directory, then I would insist you contact my equal from the company, Marc Tyler. I am sure that he would not hesitate to take a deal. He is a smart man. Do not worry, I am sending my half of the directory with this message…Respectfully, Jackson Rippner._

It was nearing midnight by the time Jackson heard the low roar of an engine pull up outside the Savannah, Georgia apartment. Knowing the U-Haul with Lisa's belongings must have arrived; Jackson closed his laptop and went to unlock the door. In all honesty, he had waited up for the sole purpose of making their re-acquaintance as uncomfortable as possible. He knew the chances were slim that Judge Reynolds or the driver had informed Lisa who she would be living with; not that he was very pleased with this decision either. He was determined to appear the gentleman though, and help them move her boxes inside.

Falling into his persona, he distanced his body from his mind and heard the subtle click of the door opening. His eyes were greeted with the sight of Lisa carrying a box- similar to the kind he had seen in evidence lockers- that appeared to be full of some sort of linen. She had not changed much in the past three years. Lisa's auburn hair had been cut recently to maintain that same length that she was accustomed to, and in the dim lighting of the street lamps, it was the first bit of color to attract his eyes.

Next was her unusual attire. He was never made aware that she even owned anything remotely casual aside from her sleep ware, but here she was, walking towards the cold apartment steps, in a loose navy hoodie with thin horizontal white stripes over the lower half and a pair of worn jeans. If he hadn't known any better he would have assumed her to be a typical college student and not a twenty-nine year old woman.

"Well someone certainly didn't waste any time in coming to see me, did you, Leese?"

The smug cockiness in his voice was hard to miss; as was the widening of her confused green eyes. It didn't take much guessing to figure out that he was one of the last people she had expected to see.

Pausing her movements, Lisa had to take a quick step out of the way to let the mover pass her with a couple of her boxes in his arms. "What- what are you doing in my apartment, Jackson?" Her voice was steady and only conveyed her confusion and not the tingling shivers of fear creeping up her spine.

This was not how her nightmares started and for that she was thankful. In her dreams she had always been lured into a false sense of security, but tonight she had felt more tensed and nervous than safe. Her only regret was not thinking to stash a weapon in her pocket-just in case. While no one had ever said it, she had been led to believe that her 'alliance' with Jackson Rippner would at least wait until morning. _Well I don't have to get along with him right now, do I?_

"Well as fate may have it, this is _our _apartment," Blocking the doorway while leaning on his arm against the frame, Jackson gave her another of his electrifying smirks. "Looking very sharp as well Ms. Reisert,"

"Bite me, it's past midnight and I was in a van for over seven hours. Now either leave me alone or start unloading. Your choice,"

Her blatant use of the phrase "bite me" piqued his curiosity, and rather silently, Jackson moved his arm from the doorframe and went towards the van. This was clearly not the same Lisa he had observed for those eight weeks two years ago. The thought that he might be to blame for that almost caused a true smile to grace his lips; almost. Instead he let his eyes wonder over the different boxes at his disposal; trying to find the ones which she would be least comfortable with him carrying and potentially unpacking.

Grabbing a box that appeared to contain items with frilly lace, if the little wisp of fabric peeking out of the handle was any indicator, Jackson took his time carrying it back up the steps and into the apartment. Finding Lisa to be rather occupied unloading towels into the bathroom closet, Jackson entered the nearly bare bedroom now belonging to her and not so gently dumped the box out on the bed.

"Oops," His smirk returned full force at seeing her almost scandalous under garments in a messy pile on the mattress. Turning to leave the room, Jackson let himself savor the anger and frustration that he was surely about to unleash. He had no real interest in whatever that woman decided to wear under her clothes; he was not perverse enough to get off on a woman's lingerie.

Despite the fact that his anger towards her had mellowed out long ago, Jackson was still fully aware of the undesired emotions she could bring out of him. If his actions- childish as they may be- caused Lisa to be just as angered and frustrated as him, then he might just feel a little better about the whole living arrangement.

The mover had been carrying out the job that he had been paid to do while Jackson had been taking the time to enjoy his bitter thoughts. The front room was littered with white boxes already, and the horrid image of the clutter against the pitch black canvas of his eyelids was enough to create a dull throbbing near his temples. _She better sort this shit out._

He was aligned again with the back of the moving van when he heard a shrill sound that brought both joy and mischief to his suffering heart.

"**Jack** **Rippner**!"

O.o.O.o.O

Lisa stood as the end of the nearly bare queen sized bed. Lying atop the plush mattress, were scattered piles of her bras and panties; and a box staying on the bed by mere inches. Clamping her lips shut and working them into a thin line, Lisa's heels emitted a harsh clacking sound as she made the short walk to the oak chest of drawers. Throwing the top drawer open, she hastily tossed in her unmentionables and left the room; after slamming the drawer shut first.

Being careful not to trip over the boxes placed all around the room; Lisa stomped back out to the van with quiet resolve. Ignoring the amused expression on her dreaded roommate's face, the choleric woman pulled up on the handle and opened the passenger side door before her arms disappeared inside. Her hands found the comforting softness of her smallest yet greatest friend; Noodles.

Lifting her furry companion out of the vehicle, Lisa pretended not to notice the glimpse of surprise she had seen in Jackson's eyes. She would not let that man get to her. She had won the last time they had seen each other, and nothing he could do would stop her from winning this time as well. Lisa even had backup in the form of an adorable bundle of ears, teeth, and claws this time around.

o.O.o.O.o

Morning came way too early for Lisa. The green, polyester gathered dress was slipped over her body at a sluggish pace. Nothing about this day held any interest to her, and as she pulled her hair back through her hands she realized that the only way to avoid Jackson would be to finish moving in. Only the essentials had been pulled from boxes last night including Noodles's food and food bowl. _Noodles must be hungry by now…_

A bare foot had barely escaped the confines of the room when a loud thwack and splintering could be heard right next to her ear. Resting beside her head was the tail end of a knife embedded in the wood frame. _He's trying to kill me already!_

"What was that for? Did I manage to damage your throwing arm too?" Words were spat from her lips before she had given herself time to regain control.

"_That, _was just a reminder," Jackson took his time to chew on his over easy egg and lick his teeth before looking at her again, "And I feel much, much better now,"

Jackson let out a grunt of amusement when he saw the attempt Lisa made to pull his knife from the wood. It was stuck all the way to the hilt, right above her eye level and once she realized it would be more beneficial for her to leave it alone, Lisa gave up and went to the pantry.

"You're an ass," It was meant to only be a mumble to herself, but to her embarrassment Jackson laughed and kicked the pantry door shut, narrowly missing her outstretched fingers. Instead of looking at her, Jackson's eyes were looking off to the side at the floor. Following his line of sight, Lisa saw Noodles, laying down and looking right up at her with his heart melting, beady eyes, right next to a bowl of his favorite crunchies.

"Not much of an ass now, am I?" Gesturing to a manila folder in front of him Jackson gave the woman a slight glare that Lisa had a hard time identifying, "Get some breakfast. Then we'll talk about our first job and how you are going to listen to me this time, _compris_?"

_**AN: Second chapter is complete! I recently downloaded a translator app on my phone so forgive me for bits and pieces in this story not being in English. I have a feeling Jackson would have to pick up different languages in his line of work and I see him as a sexy, cultured asshole. Pardon me for the language, but I believe that is why I enjoyed his character so much. **_

_**I encourage my readers to please leave me reviews, questions, and constructive criticism! **_

_**Compris: (French) Understood**_


	3. Too Hot

**AN: Chapter 3 is here! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I smiled while writing it. I'm sorry for the wait. I know where I want this story to go and how I want it to end, but sometimes the words just do not want to flow.**

**trudes193: I'm glad you liked it! I'm trying to go for a more realistic atmosphere. I know that even though, Lisa is scared by him in her dreams and she doesn't particularly like him anyway, they would still be able to converse like normal people. It's only natural with how people are raised.**

**Pirate Gyrl: They won't just have to live together in the apartment, as you will see further on. Living and working together won't be easy for either of them. I'm glad you like it! I'm trying to put some humor and tension in here while also further exploring the characters.**

**Disclaimer:** **I, in no way, own the characters from the movie "Red Eye". The storyline and screenplay for the movie was written by Carl Ellsworth, and was directed by the amazing Wes Craven. The movie is a product of Dreamworks. I also do not own Mickey Mouse or the articles of clothing mentioned. As of my knowledge there is also no artist with the stage name "lil' Posie" **

_~Previously: "Not much of an ass now, am I?" Gesturing to a manila folder in front of him Jackson gave the woman a slight glare that Lisa had a hard time identifying, "Get some breakfast. Then we'll talk about our first job and how you are going to listen to me this time, compris?"~_

Jackson watched Lisa stir her bland appearing oatmeal with boredom. As expected, she was stalling the revelation of what her first job would be. Soon she would have to come to terms with the fact that no longer was she a boring manager at a pricey, kiss ass hotel. Now she was on the road to becoming something deadly, and he was thrilled at the chance of molding her into his own creation.

Fingers sliding along the edge of the folder in a distracted manner, Jackson tried to evaluate their chances of succeeding and bringing in a paycheck. He had given the contract a quick once over before Ramage had dismissed him to his new home, but despite its simplicity he also had to consider Lisa's novice level skills and her expert level stubbornness.

He had no doubts that Lisa could fall into this new role, the only hold ups would be if the opponent actually made a move. If this time proved to be a false alarm, then Lisa may even walk out with some connections, which could be beneficial for him…

"Leese, really, you've been stirring that same clump of mush fooor," Jackson glanced down at his expensive, multi-functional watch, "ten minutes now. I suggest you walk over to the sink, clean it out and come have a nice chat with me about what we are going to be doing for the next month."

The glimpse he got of Lisa's startled expression before she reined it in was all he needed to experience a remote feeling of accomplishment. Disdain quickly replaced it as the bowl produced a loud clatter; the aftermath of it being dropped straight into the sink. Though it could have been his imagination, he could swear he could hear the sodden oatmeal slide and slosh out of the bowl. _Damn woman can't even clean!_ Clutter and grime were two things that he would never allow himself to put up with; it endangered everyone if an emergency in his line of work occurred. Dirty dishes were a sign that someone had been there recently, and in all honesty, he wanted it to appear as if they were hardly home.

"You were saying, Mr. Rippner?"

Mentally composing himself, Jackson opened the folder to show Lisa the picture on the first page. The woman was young, possibly just entering adulthood. Her age was hard to tell, but her hair was noticeably bleached, and her clothes hugged the line towards trashy yet Lisa could tell they were top of the line when it came to price.

"This is Laura Petunia Geoffreys. Her stage persona is Lil' Posie. As you can guess she is becoming quite the sensation in the entertainment industry, but she also has some family connections. Her father," Jackson pulled out the second page and slid the paper across the table to Lisa, "is Senator Richard Geoffreys. It is suspected that some of Senator Geoffreys's peers feel threatened by the indecent publicity that Lil' Posie is stirring up. That brings me to our job,"

Lisa looked back and forth between the two pictures repeatedly with her eyebrows scrunched up almost to her hairline.

"I'm sorry, but I don't see how this relates to us training anyone?"

"That is far from what we are actually doing here, Leese. I'm sure they fed you that story just to make you feel a tiny bit more secure about signing away at those confidentiality papers, and long term contracts. I'm sure they told you the consequences of fleeing the job, though, right? You do work for the Federal Government now. You see, they told me that too, but I knew it was a load of bull," Jackson handed Lisa another paper that was designed like a promotional advertisement.

"A concert tour…we're not going to-"

"**We** are the protection detail. At least for the stop in Carbondale, Illinois. You see, daddy dearest here has paid someone up top to give a little extra protection to his daughter. His paranoia is why big names such as Chicago are not listed on the tour, but he's still suspicious of how far the corruption goes in the Prairie State; even so far down south. Look on the bright side, Leese. You may not have to kill anyone yet,"

"I'm not killing anyone ever, Jackson," Lisa grabbed the papers before shoving them back into the folder. She sounded tired even to her own ears and it was not even noon yet. Was this how living with Jackson was going to be? His mere presence was wearing her out. Her hands hid her head as she allowed herself to give in to the exhaustion for a little while.

Jackson gave her an almost pitying look and reached out to pat her arm before stopping himself. They may be on the same side for now, but he doubted there would ever be a reality where Lisa would see him as anything more than a hired hand or hired mind. He wasn't even sure how far he would or even could trust her to watch his back if things got tight out on a job. She could be very resourceful when the occasion called for it and Jackson had to remind himself that she had no obligation to him only to her government. With that thought, he pulled his hand back to his side.

"Leese…" He let his voice go soft like down feathers. Training allowed him to have multiple tones of voice, and Jackson was sure that speaking as soft as velvet would not be very appreciated at a time like this. He knew the effect the right voice could have on a person, and what messages it could send. "I know this is a hard change to make. Believe me, I do. No one takes it gracefully, but right now what I need you to do is a little unpacking. Just until lunch time, and then we can go to the mall for some food and some light training, okay? Can you do that?"

Lisa nodded her head and with a sigh she released it from her hands. A part of her wanted to rebel; the other side demanded for her to allow him to take charge. Just this one time she would do what he asked. Until she had the energy to think for herself again, but there was one thing she was sure of; she would never be like Jackson and she would never kill.

o.O.o.O.o

Jackson would never admit it but he was amazed. Lisa had managed to completely unpack everything and disassemble the boxes before lunch. He had been researching the food choices the local mall provided while out of the corner of his eye he watched Lisa unpack her few kitchen utensils. From what he had seen before, her cooking skills were lacking. His were not much better which is why he was relieved to see the amount of restaurants in the area.

The mall was supposed to be one of those super malls, which would be perfect. Less chance for them to be remembered and plenty of people for Jackson to use to train Lisa; though he hoped she would already be good at this game from her previous employment. Once he had decided on where they would dine, all Jackson had to do was wait on Lisa to finish disassembling a few larger boxes.

She could feel his eyes on her as she struggled with the last few pieces of cardboard. What was even more unnerving was how calmly her dog sat in his outstretched lap. It was unnatural how quickly he had taken to Jackson. The way the man absentmindedly toyed with her Frenchie's ears as he watched her with half lidded eyes was making it hard for Lisa to keep her composure. She dreaded the thought of being in a car alone with him and those piercing eyes.

O.o.O.o.O

"Relax, Leese, I'm not going to kill you so stop trying to dig holes in the seat. It wasn't cheap," He made sure the last word made a nice popping noise to emphasize his point.

The way to the mall that he had chosen was a very old and scenic route. A part of him had hoped the beautiful scenery would calm and quiet the frazzled woman beside him, but so far luck had not been on his side.

"Where are we having lunch?" The sound of a simple and reasonable question eased Jackson's aching nerves. This was something he could handle from her.

"Some fast Thai place I saw on their website. It looked decent enough and it's in the food court so it'll work for your training," He knew the question was coming. Lisa hadn't been able to muster up the courage in the apartment but he knew it was only a matter of time. Jackson could practically see her mind urging her to take control of the situation instead of allowing him to steer everything his way.

"When you say training…" He could see Lisa's head tilt back to look over the seat and into the back before righting itself on her shoulders again. More than likely looking for any sign of a gun.

"When I say training, it means you are going to be doing some intense people watching. When you are performing the upcoming job, being able to decipher people's intentions will be vital. For that, you are going to have to be able to tell if a person is up to no good by just looking at them,"

"That sounds pretty discriminating,"

"Well I'm sorry if this job is not as politically correct as what you're used to, Leese, but that's life. When a person is intending to cause harm, their body language and eyes can give them away," Jackson slowly eased the car into one of the few available parking spaces.

The weather was muggy outside and Jackson's body was protesting the way his clothes were beginning to stick to his skin just from the walk through the parking lot. The only pleasing side effect of his clothes becoming too tight was the slight darkening of Lisa's eyes as her pupils began to dilate. As soon as he caught a glimpse of her bed room eyes, the sight was taken away from him as she turned away. No doubt berating herself for whatever thoughts caused her eyes to show lust.

Despite the fact that he had found himself enjoying the natural beauty of Georgia, this weather was not to his liking. Jackson rolled his lips in as a strangely poetic thought crossed his mind. This weather was nature's way of warning him that such a beautiful place was not for someone as cruel and ugly as himself. He knew that once this joy ride with the Government was over, he would have to move right back to some place as sinister as the deeds he had committed. Somewhere with sky scrapers, grimy slums, and a very intense crime rate; he could almost smell the smog now.

"Hello? Earth to Jackson? The restaurant is this way," Lisa was staring at him as if he had just morphed into a mutant with two heads; her body leaning towards the correct way to get their lunch destination. He realized then that he must have spent longer pondering his next location than he had meant to.

"Right…." Jackson mumbled as he followed her through the crowd of people. At least the air inside was cool enough that his clothes were beginning to separate from his skin.

o.O.o.O.o

Jackson's grin widened with laughter as he watched Lisa chug whatever nonalcoholic fruity concoction was in her glass. It was obvious to everyone around them that the distressed woman had ordered something much too spicy for herself.

"I told you to get something mild," Jackson's eyes took in the sight of Lisa's pink cheeks. The color was slowly fading from the more desirable places, such as her neck much to Jackson's dismay. Ever since the botched job on that plane, he had enjoyed the image of a flustered Lisa. Until recently, only his mind had been able to conjure up that sight to his eyes. "But you just had to be stubborn,"

"Can't we both just agree the aftermath was enough of a punishment?" She still had to suck mouthfuls of oxygen into her mouth in an attempt to cool down her piping hot tongue and throat. "No need to pour salt in the wound, I assure you,"

"Well I suppose I can believe you if…" Jackson looked over at the man sitting in a booth on the other side of the small room. "You can tell me about that lonesome man over there,"

With an aggravated sigh at the thought of invading someone else's privacy, Lisa turned her head slightly to the man her associate was barely gesturing his cupped hand towards. He was above middle age, with an expensive suit that had failed to get ironed out causing him to look like a bundled up mess. From the tired look around his eyes, Lisa would usually have suspected him to be an over worked cop, but the suit was far above a policeman's pay. His fingers kept scrunching inwards towards his palms and then he would caress the golden ring that was tight on his left ring finger as if he was afraid the thing was about to fly off.

"Well he's married…,"

"Obviously, now what else,"

"I'd say he's meeting someone he shouldn't, but he's caressing that ring like it's his life line. Something has him distressed though…" Lisa slowly moved her eyes to where the slightly obese man kept looking. She was startled to find his gaze locked on a couple around his age. The man had his back to her but Lisa had a clear shot of the woman. Her hair had taken on a grungy, orange hue from one too many dye jobs, and the make-up she wore was thick and loud as if she had been trying to hide her actual age. Even with that, Lisa could tell that at one time this woman had been beautiful. Her attire was more suitable for the mall restaurant that they were all in; a short sleeve yellow shirt with red and orange beading across the modest collar, and a pair of designer jeans. What pulled Lisa's attention, however, were the motions the older woman was doing with her worn hands. For the most part, her right hand would sit politely on top of her left, but occasionally the bases of her left fingers would peak out when her hands were absentmindedly moved up into a risen mound; revealing something to Lisa's eyes.

"There's a tan line on that woman's ring finger, but she keeps hiding it," Lisa observed the scene with a heavy feeling in her chest for a few seconds longer before she turned back around to face Jackson.

Jackson nodded and mumbled a good before pushing her plate towards her. In place of the spicy chicken that had caused her to create a spectacle of herself was a milder form of the menu item.

"Now what does that tell you about her?"

"Well she could be divorced, but that wouldn't explain why she keeps covering it. I… I think she's cheating on that lonely man over there with her lunch date," Lisa looked down at her plate so she wouldn't have to see Jackson's total apathy towards what was going down in the restaurant. This form of the dish was much easier on her tongue than the one she had ordered, and provided the much needed distraction she was looking for.

"I believe you're right. What do you think the poor man should do about it, hmmm?" Those blue eyes were gazing at her intensely. He knew she could feel his gaze on her even as she kept her head down as she ate. Jackson was curious what a woman such as Lisa would think in a situation like this.

"I think he should confront her and divorce her," That was not the reaction he had been expecting from her. "If she is going behind his back with someone else then she should have to deal with the consequences. Her husband is obviously in a lot of pain and that's not right. People shouldn't have to hurt over things like this,"

The strength in her unwavering voice surprised a small grin out of him. Here was the fire that he enjoyed seeing. He just couldn't help but question her further.

"What if she has a reason for what she's doing?"

"Then she should have left beforehand instead of putting that man through such misery,"

"We're not just talking about that stranger anymore, are we, Leese?" He could sense bitterness in her voice as she spoke. An emotion that he would not normally associate with the fiery vixen in front of him; she had displayed plenty of emotions over the time he had known her, but bitterness was not one. "Who are we talking about, Leese?"

"Just drop it, Jackson," Lisa sat back with such a resigned look gracing her face that Jackson lost all desire to pry. "You're not my therapist. You know that right?"

"Very well, topic dropped," Jackson stood and stretched out his lanky legs. Right now, he decided, he would prefer not to have Lisa's blood boiling in anger towards him. There were certain things he would not pry into with this woman, and the look in her eyes told him that this was one of those things.

"Thank you,"

O.o.O.o.O

Lisa walked out of the bathroom in her Mickey Mouse shorts and top that Jackson had seen her wear countless times before through her window. As creepy as it sounded, even to him, Jackson was glad that he was prepared for such a sight. Women and their skewed sense of modesty confused him. It's indecent for men to see them in their underwear, yet a bikini is fine to be seen in while in public. Lisa's outfit would be considered indecent outside these walls, but considered ample cover indoors. The way the shorts rode up he could almost see her butt, and could see every defined muscle in her legs. The tight shirt didn't leave much to his imagination either…

Forcing his eyes away, Jackson picked up their current assignment again. The day of the concert was going to come quickly if he wasn't careful, and they needed to be familiar with the territory.

"Start packing a bag or two sometime tomorrow. We'll need to leave the next day if we're going to have any hope of being prepared,"

Lisa walked back out of her room to question him, when she saw Jackson quickly cover her dog's eyes. "And for goodness sakes woman, put some damn clothes on! I live here too,"

Turning back around inside her room, Lisa couldn't help but be confused. What was wrong with what she had on? She was just wearing pajamas.

**AN: Wanted to end on a light note there.**

**So why do you think the adulterous woman bothered Lisa so much?**

**And how do you feel about Jackson's attempts to show Lisa that outside his job he is a normal person?**

**Lisa's in kind of a bad and confused place right now. On one hand, Jackson hasn't been **_**too**_** bad so far and has actually been companionable. On the other hand, she knows what he does and he's dragging her into it. With her having no good way to escape it.**

**I hope you all enjoyed it! Please review and give me some feedback. YOU, the reviewers, can make a difference!**


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